I strive each day to make a difference in the world. Through my business, through volunteerism, through reaching out to friends and family… How can I help? What can I do? ~~ Pamela J. Leavey

I moved home to Massachusetts two months ago and have been enjoying settling in and reminiscing with old friends while balancing my business, a part time job and my 3 blogs. Whew… my plate is way too full.

I’m living in Amesbury, the next town over from my hometown, Newburyport. I love Amesbury. It’s a beautiful little city with lot’s of great countryside and the Merrimack River which ambles along towards its final destination, the Atlantic Ocean.

Okay… enough rambling. I read in the local newspaper tonight, that there’s a new bookstore that just opened in downtown Amesbury. I love a good bookstore. I can’t wait to check it out.

Dear Readers, I just posted the following on my political blog, The Democratic Daily, it explains why it has been so quite around my 3 blogs:

As readers have no doubt noticed it has been pretty quite around here in the past couple of weeks. I have a very full plate since my recent move back home to Massachusetts and I am juggling way too much.

When I first started The Dem Daily nearly 4 years ago, my business was far more stable and I had much more free time on my hands, as I actually could afford part time help to fill orders. The recession has taken a huge toll on my business, as it has on many small businesses. After moving to Maine from Los Angeles 7 months ago in attempt to save some money on living expenses, I found that in order to stay afloat I needed to find a job and run my business on the side.

So, here I am in Massachusetts, where I grew up, with a full time job, a business suffering from the recession and not 1, but 3 blogs (5, if you count my business blogs). Sadly, somethings need to go on the back burner, and that means the blogs get less of my time until the economy picks back up.

All that said, once I more acclimated to my new schedule, I hope to be back here posting more frequently again. And in the meantime, I hope some of the other writers that have posted here in the past will be able to jump in occassionally and keep readers up to date.

Stay tuned…

As a wholesale supplier of natural bath and body products to small retailers, I wasn’t at all surprised to read the news this morning that “Retail sales fell for a second straight month in April.”

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales fell 0.4 percent last month, much worse than the flat reading economists expected. The April weakness followed a 1.3 percent drop in March that was worse than first estimated.

Cottage industries like my own have taken a big hit in this recession. My clients are all lagging in sales, as am I. Which brings me to another piece of news…

I moved to Maine about 7 months ago, hoping to save some money living in an area that is cheaper to live than Los Angeles, where I had lived for nearly 19 years. Unfortunately my daughter has been out of work since we got here, and there isn’t much opportunity here for her, or me for that matter. I find for the first time in 12 years, I need to find work to help supplement my business income. So… I am moving again — on May 22.

I’ll be packing up and moving to New Hampshire for a bit to stay with friends and then the ultimate destination is Massachusetts (the Newburyport area).  The good news is, we’ll be back in home in Massachusetts in short time and I’ll be officially a constituent of my 2 favorite Senators — Kerry and Kennedy!

Stay tuned… I’m taking all this change in stride — it’s the next chapter in my great Mid-life Crisis Adventure, fueled by the recession!

[Originally posted at The Democratic Daily]

A couple of weeks ago I was down in Newburyport, MA (my hometown) and saw that someone had erected a wind turbine. Not everyone there is happy with the wind turbine, however some get the value and understand that we must utilize alternative energy sources before it’s too late. One of the claims about wind turbines is they make too much noise. A Newburyport resident who drives by every day says not so.

After seeing the wind turbine in Newburyport two weeks ago, I wondered why Eastport, Maine, where I recently re-located to after nearly 19 years in Los Angeles, isn’t working on wind turbines of their own. The cost per KWH of electricity here is outrageous. Part of the problem is the transport of the electricity. A few well placed wind turbines would generate quite a bit of power for the lovely coastal city in the Passamaquoddy Bay and would give residents a break on their electric bills.

Much of coastal Maine has been shown to have “wind resources consistent with utility-scale production,” including the Eastport area. The Mars Hill Wind Farm on the summitt of Mars Hill Mountain here in Maine, “generates approximately 42 megawatts of power, enough to power 45,000 average Maine homes,” when operating at full capacity. 

Even at 35% capacity, the project generates enough power to accommodate at least 22,000 homes. The electricity produced from the Mars Hill Wind Farm results in a reduction of approximately 65,000 tons of carbon dioxide and over 350 tons of other damaging pollutants every year.

Listening to the roaring and howling winds last night and today, and over the months since I moved here, I keep thinking it’s time to harness the wind. And honestly when you think about those roaring and howling winds, they are probably noisier than a few combined wind turbines.

In early January, the Maine Public Utilities Commission introduced a new incentive program for Maine residents and business owners who are interested in installing wind turbines to produce electricity.  

I am fully aware of all of the debates over wind turbines and I have even written in the past, that I was not completely convinced of their benefit over the possible negatives. However, 5 months of the highest electric bills I’ve ever paid in 30 years or more, does give pause for thought.

We can’t be dependent on oil forever and I think that utilizing local resources is vital. Tidal power is another excellent resource to look at in this area, and thankfully there is something in the works here on that realm, though it still has quite a long way to go.

I love living in Eastport, but there have been challenges. Eastport is beautiful little city that has much to offer and it’s time to begin to revitalize it.

A small wind turbine project would bring much needed work to the area (even if only temporary), lower electricity rates over a period of time and give residents and business owners a much needed break on winter bills. With that, perhaps in time more small businesses would be able to flourish here in the winter months, rather than close their doors until the weather breaks.

Eastport was once, from what I understand a thriving little city. That could happen again, but residents must be willing to move towards the future and embrace alternative energy as a both an energy source and an economic boost for the area.

Over the past few weeks I have noted in a few posts that I am preparing to move across country. I’ve kept meaning to write more about the move and let readers know what’s up but have been so busy with all the preparations, that I haven’t had time to blog about much of anything some days (once I am re-settled in my new home Down East, I’ll be writing more).

So here’s the scoop, readers…

After 19 long years of living in Los Angeles (San Fernando Valley), I am moving back to the East Coast. I am originally from a small city on the coast of Massachusetts — Newburyport. I am heading further North in my move however, and will be living in Eastport, Maine:

Eastport, Maine is a beautiful small coastal community on the border of Canada. It’s a fishing port and artist community that is surrounded (as you can see from the map above) on three sides by water. I’ve missed living near the ocean, so I am thrilled to be moving back to my roots in New England, and particularly to move to Maine which has been a dream for many years.

I will be setting out from Los Angeles three weeks from today (October 19) with my daughter (and our cat, Zeus) and a friend to embark on a great adventure, driving cross country (from the South West corner to the North East corner) to our new home in Eastport, Maine. Thankfully, my business is a wholesale internet based business that I can run from just about anywhere.  

The economy has made it nearly impossible for me to afford to live (and run my business) in Los Angeles any longer. The latest turn of events in the economic mess has reinforced that the move will be a positive one. Housing in the Eastport area is a fraction of the cost here in Los Angeles. I’ll be renting a little 2 bedroom duplex from my niece and her husband to start and hope that in a year or two, I finally be able to buy my own home.

My new home will be about 1/2 mile walk to the ocean. On any given day in Eastport, Maine you can see Whales off the coast, Seals basking on the rocks and Canadian Geese, Eagles and other Raptors over head. And, there’s deer, racoons and bobcats in the woods and absolutely gorgeous views of seasmoke, sunrises and sunsets over the water.

An artist by nature, I used to paint years ago and I look forward to taking that up again and finally finishing my novel I started years ago. I’ll be living in just the right peaceful atmosphere to re-inspire my artistic nature and I’ll be among community rich with artisans.

While I’m on the road, I’ll be offline most of the time, I hope that all of The Dem Daily writers will keep readers up to date on all the election and political news during that time. There’s lots of incredible photos of the Eastport area at EasternMaineImages.com for any readers interested in seeing what the draw is for this small town New Englander to head back to her roots. Ironically, Eastport, Maine “was first settled in 1772 by James Cochrane of Newburyport, Massachusetts,” which adds to the sense that I belong there. And of course there is the opportunity to live near family which is something my daughter and I have missed out on here in Los Angeles for years.

I will miss all my wonderful friends here in Los Angeles, including the bloggers here like SteveAudio and his lovely wife Pam, Skippy and Brad Friedman - to name a few. I’ve had a rich and wonderful life while living in Los Angeles, but now it’s time for a new chapter in my life. Stay tuned…

[Cross posted on my political blog: The Democratic Daily]

I love the ocean.

I’ve redesigned more than a few templates over the past few years, mostly on my political blog, The Democratic Daily, but today, I also just finished a redesigned template for my two business website blogs — Aromatherapywholesale.com and Aromatherapygoddess.com.

Setting up this blog today was a long overdue whim. When I ran across this theme while searching for a theme I could redesign, I realized this theme was just about perfect as is, at least for now. I lived on the coast of Massachusetts for 33 years. I was never more than a 5 – 10 mile drive from the ocean.

For the past 18 1/2 years, I’ve lived in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley and it’s just a bit farther than comfortable for my taste. I miss being able to drive to the ocean every day, if the spirit moves me.

So, in lieu of daily trips to the ocean and and a more rural lifestyle, I settle for photographs of the seaside and lovely potted garden outside of my apartment door.

All said and done, this theme suits my mood for now… For I long to be by the ocean on a daily basis. Perhaps it’s because I just finished reading Ahab’s Wife and it made me home sick for Massachusetts and the rich seafaring history of my hometown, Newburyport. Or perhaps, it’s just because I miss the ocean.

Last summer I spent a few days out in Malibu housesitting for a friend and on the last day, sitting on the rocks at the ocean’s edge I realized how totally empty my my mind was of all my worries and cares. It was just me and the movement of the waves. Still, but flowing. Relaxed and renewed. It’s time for a vacation. Or at the least a day trip to the beach.  

Enough rambling for now…